ISLAMABAD: On the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Dr Arif Alvi today filed a reference in the Supreme Court in the Reko Diq case.
The reference seeks the opinion of the court on the settlement agreement on Reko Diq.
Earlier, the federal cabinet gave a go-ahead for sending a presidential reference on the Reko Diq case to the Supreme Court.
In March 2022, Shaukat Tarin then finance minister said that an agreement for the development of the Reko Diq mine had been signed Barrick Gold wherein Balochistan would have a 25% share.
Pakistan and Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had agreed to divide shares with each side getting 50% of them, contrary to 25% shares for Pakistan in the previous deal.
In 2019, Pakistan managed to get a reduced penalty from a massive $16 billion to $6 billion in the Reko Diq case. In a 700-page ruling, the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes awarded a $4.08 billion penalty and $1.87 billion in interest to Pakistan. The amount will be paid to Tethyan Copper Company.
The firm had been granted a licence for gold and copper mining at Reko Diq, area of Balochistan, but the former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry had cancelled the agreement with the company.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
